Assessment of methylation of DNA is useful in many research, diagnostic, medical, forensic, and industrial fields. Particularly, methylation of cytosine in genomic DNA has been correlated with lack of gene expression, and in some instances can be indicative of early and frequent alterations found in some cancers. Thus, the ability to assess the methylation status of DNA is significant.
Key to this assessment is converting cytosine to uracil. One basic method for such conversion, employing sodium bisulfite, is well known. Over the years, the method has been improved in attempts to overcome disadvantages that include tedious procedures, lengthy reaction times, and DNA degradation. The most commonly used protocol is taught by J. Herman, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. 93, 9821-26 (1996), incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. This method involves denaturation, reaction with sodium bisulfite in the presence of hydroquinone, and subsequent completion of the modification by treatment with NaOH. Despite the attempts to improve the protocol, current procedures require pre-denaturation of the genomic DNA (gDNA) to single stranded DNA (ssDNA), preparation of fresh solutions of sodium bisulfite (NaHSO3), typically about 3M, and inclusion of an antioxidant (e.g., hydroquinone). The protocol also involves long reaction times and tedious clean-up procedures.
In addition, the currently employed sodium bisulfite protocols are plagued by reports of incomplete conversion, irreproducible results, and other problems. In some cases, the reaction can result in significant DNA degradation (reportedly as high as 96%), making it difficult to obtain enough sample for further analysis. See. S. J. Clark et al. Nucleic Acid Research 2001, 29 no. 13, e65. Given the importance of assessment of DNA methylation, it can be seen that there is a need for improved methodologies for conversion of cytosine to uracil.
It has been discovered that bisulfite methods that employ magnesium bisulfite, polyamine compounds, and/or quaternary amine compounds provide useful alternatives to sodium bisulfite conversion reactions. These discoveries are the subjects of co-owned applications entitled “Method And Materials For Polyamine Catalyzed Bisulfite Conversion Of Cytosine To Uracil” (U.S. application Ser. No. 60/499,113 filed Aug. 29, 2003, and also application Ser. No. 60/520,942 having the same title and filed Nov. 17, 2003), “Method And Materials For Quaternary Amine Catalyzed Bisulfite Conversion Of Cytosine To Uracil” (U.S. application Ser. No. 60/499,106 filed Aug. 29, 2003, and also application Ser. No. 60/523,054 having the same title and filed Nov. 17, 2003), and “Method and Materials for Bisulfite Conversion of Cytosine to Uracil” (U.S. application Ser. No. 60/499,082 filed Aug. 29, 2003, all of which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety. Improvements in clean-up procedures associated with conversion of cytosine to uracil are also the subject of co-owned applications entitled “Improved Bisulfite Method” (U.S. application Ser. No. 60/498,996 filed Aug. 29, 2003 and also application Ser. No. 60/520,941 having the same title and filed Nov. 17, 2003) all of which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety.